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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29016129">I Kill Giants</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamgees/pseuds/gamgees'>gamgees</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Difference, F/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Steve Rogers Has Issues, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:15:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,187</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29016129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamgees/pseuds/gamgees</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark: genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, collector of strays.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony stepped on a Lego and swore out loud. “Fuck!”</p><p>“Fuck!” Morgan repeated cheerfully, playing on the floor with her superhero Lego sets.</p><p>You found Lego Loki’s antlers at the exact same moment and attached it to his head. His sceptre was still missing, though.</p><p>“No,” Tony was immediately saying. “Nuh uh, Little Miss Potty Mouth. You’re going to get me in trouble with your mom.”</p><p>He hovered over the two of you for a second to see what you were up to. You were trying to build the Avengers tower, which you didn’t think looked anything like the real one. Sprawled out on your belly, with a fluffy rug underneath you, Morgan draped herself over your back like prawn on sushi.</p><p>Four-year-olds had amazingly short attention spans.</p><p>Morgan lost interest in the tower some time ago. Now she was arranging their Lego heroes in order from prettiest to ugliest around a miniature stage.</p><p>“Uh,” Tony interjected, “why is Cap up front?”</p><p>“Because he’s the prettiest,” Morgan answered matter-of-factly. “Even Mommy says.”</p><p>Tony turned to you with accusing eyes. “You’re encouraging this?” He sounded as affronted as he looked.</p><p>“Thor’s the prettiest,” you told him. You always made sure to screenshot his snaps. You currently had a one thousand, five hundred and fifty-one day streak.</p><p>Morgan wiggled in protest on top of you. “No aliens!”</p><p>Tony raised an eyebrow at that. “Why no aliens?”</p><p>“So it’s fair,” Morgan said. Lego Thor and Lego Loki were standing in the audience with Lego Luke and Lego Leia, two sets of space siblings. Standing behind them was Lego Darth Vader, the ultimate space dad.</p><p>“Uh,” Tony said again, because he was incapable of <em>not</em> arguing, even with his own four-year-old daughter, “Captain America is enhanced, so he should technically be over there.” He was pointing at the space family.</p><p>Morgan gave her dad a pointed look. “You should tech—” She stumbled over the word and broke it up into syllables. “You should tech-ni-cal-ly be helping Mom.”</p><p>Tony narrowed his eyes at her. Before he could open his big mouth again, Pepper’s voice rang out from downstairs. “Tony!”</p><p>Morgan smiled triumphantly up at him. You held up a palm and Morgan clapped her little hand down for a low five. Tony turned to leave, muttering to himself, “They’re conspiring against me.”</p><p>You and Morgan ignored him and kept playing with the Legos.</p><p>Most of your days went like this ever since Morgan was born. You really had nothing better to do.</p><p>You didn’t go to school. Well, you never did, because you grew up in a Hydra facility, where neo-Nazis taught you how to read and count and the steps to world domination, and not much else.</p><p>You didn’t have hobbies, either.</p><p>You whiled away your time doing whatever other people wanted you to do. When you were with Morgan, that was playing with her, like any good big sister should.</p><p>When you were with Tony and Pepper, that was behaving like a normal teenager, which meant being on your phone twenty-four seven.</p><p>Morgan was fiddling with Lego Captain America’s shield. “Is he nice?” she asked curiously.</p><p>She put the disc on top of his head, so it looked like he was wearing a random sombrero without the pointy bit at the top.</p><p>You shrugged and said, “To his friends.” You didn’t really remember much about Captain America.</p><p>When the Avengers took you from Strucker’s base, you were barely ten years old. You went from being a Hydra dummy to what SHIELD called a ‘ward of the state’, but you never had much to do with Captain America.</p><p>Mainly, it was Nat who looked after your training, which consisted of watching educational Captain America videos. Apparently, PE was compulsory for every child across the country, and the Captain America fitness challenge was part of the school curriculum.</p><p>If Captain America was free, he would walk you through his kid-friendly exercises in person. On his days off, he might even take you to the museum. That was it.</p><p>Wonderingly, Morgan put her chin on top of your head. “Are you his friend?”</p><p>“No,” you said.</p><p>“Is Daddy his friend?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Why not?” The pointy little chin moved against the crown of your head, up and down.</p><p>“Because he lied.”</p><p>“But you always lie,” Morgan pointed out.</p><p>“I’m allowed to,” you said, lying again.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>You thought about it. “Because I lie about cheeseburgers,” you decided. “Captain America lied about your grandparents dying.”</p><p>You were only living in their facility for about a year before the Avengers broke up. Captain America left and took everyone with him, including Nat.</p><p>You were used to people leaving, though.</p><p>Not that the compound stayed empty for long. Rhodey was usually around, and after his leg got screwed up, he was grounded for a while.</p><p>And Tony came to stay with you.</p><p>At the time, Iron Man was the Avenger you knew least, but he was the only one who stuck around.</p><p>On <em>his</em> days off, Tony would take you to pottery classes, volunteer at the soup kitchen, see the ballet, befriend old people in nursing homes, drive around the track, and cuddle animals at the shelter.</p><p>Solely for preventative purposes, he explained from the very beginning, because he thought you were a murder child who would grow up to become a murder teenager who would grow up to become a murder adult.</p><p>You only ever killed people accidentally, though. You hadn’t even had any more accidents like that ever since SHIELD took you in.</p><p>Morgan was silent for a moment. Her stubby fingers played with strands of your hair. “Dying’s bad,” she said.</p><p>You found the Lego Avengers logo and fixed it to the Lego Avengers tower. “Yeah.”</p><p>After another moment, Morgan added, “Lying’s bad.”</p><p>“Sometimes,” you said.</p><p>“Most of the time,” Morgan corrected. She clambered off you and started tugging you up by the hand. “Can we play outside?”</p><p>Abandoning the playroom, you made your way downstairs with her. Morgan skipped down each step, holding onto your hand to avoid a tumble.</p><p>You found Tony and Pepper bickering in the kitchen over what looked like overcooked chicken.</p><p>When Tony spotted you, he immediately called, “Switch,” and beat a hasty retreat from Pepper’s side. She threw her hands in the air.</p><p>“You’re unbelievable.” Pepper looked equal parts amused and frustrated. You learned early on that amused and frustrated was Pepper’s default setting when it came to Tony.</p><p>“House rules, Pep.” Tony swung Morgan up into his arms. “Numero Uno,” he said to you, “hold the fort. Numero Dos—” that was Morgan, “—let’s blow this joint.”</p><p>Morgan’s giggles disappeared out the front door. Pepper was shaking her head after them. “Unbelievable. What did I just say?” You wandered over to her. “Does that look dry to you?”</p><p>You picked up a fork to poke at the chicken. “Not with ketchup.”</p><p>“After I told him to watch it.” Pepper exhaled in annoyance. “I went to the bathroom for, like, five minutes.”</p><p>“Should’ve asked Friday,” you said unhelpfully.</p><p>The look Pepper gave you was long-suffering. “You think?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. She shook her head again, then waved you away. “Just go sit down, hon. You all like ketchup, anyway.”</p><p>You did like ketchup.</p><p>You retrieved four sets of plates and cutlery from the cupboards on your way out and took them into the dining room with you, quickly setting the table before heading back upstairs. Pepper would call you down once the food was ready.</p><p>With nothing else to do, you logged into the PlayStation.</p><p>Korg was online, as usual. There was a six-hour time difference between New York and Tønsberg, which meant it was already around five o’clock in the afternoon where Thor was.</p><p>The minute Korg saw you were on, he invited you to play DayZ with him. You spent the next hour scavenging supplies from abandoned properties and ambushing unsuspecting gamers.</p><p>You were busy hacking some moron to death with the wicked machete you’d stolen from him when knuckles rapped at your door.</p><p>“Knock, knock.” Tony turned the knob and poked his head through the crack. “Food’s ready, Vanellope. We got visitors.”</p><p>“Five minutes,” you said distractedly.</p><p>“Now,” Tony said, in that no-nonsense tone he usually reserved for Morgan now that you were old enough to know better. Most of the time.</p><p>You spoke into your headset. “Gotta go. Food,” you told Korg, by way of explanation. You unloaded all your supplies so he could take his pick of the stuff.</p><p>“Chur,” Korg said appreciatively, already picking through your discarded belongings. “Catch you later, G.”</p><p>You logged out and put the console on rest mode. Tony quirked an eyebrow at you from the doorway. “Your alien buddies?”</p><p>You shrugged.</p><p>You followed him downstairs, wondering who the visitors were. Tony and Pepper never had visitors, unless it was Happy or Rhodey. The entire property was guarded by iron sentinels, remotely controlled by Friday.</p><p>Only a select few were permitted past the perimeter. If any unwanted guests tried forcing their way in, they would get blown to smithereens.</p><p>“Who’s here?” you asked wonderingly. If it was Happy or Rhodey, Tony would have just said Happy or Rhodey.</p><p>“Old friends,” Tony said instead. His tone was deliberately casual.</p><p>“You don’t have old friends,” you told him.</p><p>“Uh, yes,” he asserted, “I do.”</p><p>You didn’t think so. You let your expression convey your dubiousness, but Tony seemed content with getting the final word, because he didn’t push his point.</p><p>You both took a pit stop in the kitchen to wash your hands. Unwashed pots were piled neatly in the sink.</p><p>It was your turn to clean up. You and Tony took turns after every meal. House rules dictated that the four of you all sit down and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together every day.</p><p>House rules also dictated that the cook never cleaned up, and because Pepper always cooked, dish duty was divided between the other able bodied people in the house.</p><p>The only thing you missed about living in the compound was having cleaners. Avengers were too important to be expected to clean up after themselves, even junior Avengers.</p><p>Only Hawkeye had ever suggested giving you chores from the get-go to introduce you to some semblance of normalcy, but Thor had been dismissive of the notion. You <em>weren’t</em> normal.</p><p>Thor had been raised as a prince, though, and had probably never touched a rag in his life, except to wipe off the blood of his enemies from his beloved weapons.</p><p>Luckily, Iron Man had also grown up without ever doing any work around the house, so no one ever pressed the issue. Captain America had been mostly indifferent; as long as you were where you were supposed to be, he exercised a practiced apathy towards your upbringing.</p><p>Pepper was the one who eventually introduced the concept of chores to your lifestyle, not long after you moved into the new place. You didn’t really mind doing your chores.</p><p>You dried your hands on a dish towel and went ahead to the dining room. Tony trailed behind you.</p><p>Morgan was already seated next to Pepper, peering curiously at the new guests. You saw what Tony meant when he said ‘old friends’.</p><p>Captain America and the Black Widow were sitting at the dining table.</p><p>You would have preferred Happy and Rhodey.</p><p>Nat raised an eyebrow at you. “Still in pajamas?” She checked her watch. “It’s past noon.”</p><p>You didn’t say anything, too puzzled by their presence. Tony and Pepper let you wear whatever you wanted whenever you wanted.</p><p>Tony took a seat on the other side of Morgan, leaving the spot between them free for you to slide into. “Cap? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”</p><p>Steve had paused in the middle of getting to his feet. Nat’s eyes flicked to him for the briefest second before she turned her attention back to you.</p><p>“You’ve grown up,” she said. The observation was accompanied by a slow once-over.</p><p>You shrugged and pulled out the chair between Morgan and Tony. After a moment, Nat and Steve and the other guy sat back down.</p><p>You weren’t even thirteen yet the last time you saw them. After his failed expedition to outer space, Tony had only stayed in the compound for as long as the doctors said he had to. Once he was cleared to go, he left with Pepper and took you with him.</p><p>That was five years ago. Steve and Nat both looked tired and older.</p><p>The person they brought looked vaguely familiar to you. The feeling was apparently mutual, because all of a sudden, the guy was saying, “Oh. You’re Marvel Girl. Wow. I’m Ant-Man. Scott. Nice to meet you. My daughter’s about your age. Maybe a couple years younger.”</p><p>“You should hang out,” Natasha suggested dryly.</p><p>“I’m hungry,” Morgan complained.</p><p>The meal that ensued was stilted.</p><p>Pepper seemed to have given up on roast chicken and vegetables and turned it into carbonara instead. The creamy sauce disguised the dryness of the overcooked bird. She and Nat were catching up over the food, but Tony and Steve saved the small talk.</p><p>You could feel eyes on you. You picked at your food and ignored it. There was a rule against having phones out on the table, but you didn’t think it applied at the moment.</p><p>Scott snuck a glance at your screen. “Is that Snapchat? I think Cassie has one.”</p><p>“What’s her username?” you asked.</p><p>His eyes widened. “You want to— Wait,” Scott said hastily, “let me just give her a call.” He pulled his own phone out and excused himself from the table. A second later, he was returning with the username.</p><p>You added his daughter as a friend, then sent over a picture of you and Scott looking down at your phone from a less than flattering angle.</p><p>Cassie replied almost immediately with a snap of the ugliest bunny you’d ever seen.</p><p>“I got her that for her eighth birthday,” Scott reminisced with a touch of sadness. He shook his head regretfully. “Time flies.”</p><p>Tony was gazing at Morgan, who was dismantling a baby corn on her Dora the Explorer plate. “Tell me about it,” he said.</p><p>Scott cleared his throat and glanced back down at your screen. “Wow.” He changed the topic with affected cheer, but the awe in his voice sounded genuine. “A thousand days with Thor.”</p><p>That caught Nat’s attention. “You talk to Thor?”</p><p>You stared at her. “Don’t you?”</p><p>“Not really,” Natasha said. “Not since...”</p><p>“You guys are shit friends,” you told them.</p><p>Scott choked on his drink.</p><p>Pepper said your name reprimandingly.</p><p>There was a frown between Steve’s brows. “You guys are crap friends,” you said blandly.</p><p>Pepper sighed.</p><p>“Shit friends,” Morgan repeated.</p><p>“Oh my goodness.” Pepper looked mortified. “I’m so sorry, Natasha. Steve. You girls are in big trouble.” She gave you and Morgan a very displeased look. “Go to your rooms. I’ll deal with you shortly.”</p><p>Steve put out a hand. “No. We deserve that.”</p><p>You pushed your chair away from the table. Everyone seemed to be finished eating, anyway. Except Morgan, but Morgan always finished last. She treated mealtimes like a game of Operation.</p><p>“I’m going to start cleaning up,” you announced.</p><p>Another chair followed. It was Steve getting to his feet. “Let me help,” he said. Pepper began to protest, but Steve cut her off gently. “Pepper. It’s the least I can do. Give me a hand, kid.”</p><p>You helped him stack the plates together, and the two of you went into the kitchen with all the dirty dishes in just one trip. You loaded them into the dishwasher in silence. Wordlessly, Steve started on the pots by hand. They were too big to fit in the dishwasher.</p><p>“Been a while,” he broached after a minute. “How you been, kid?”</p><p>“Good,” you said.</p><p>“Decided on college yet?”</p><p>“No.” You weren’t going.</p><p>You were aware of him eyeing you through the peripheries of your vision, but you just fed the last of the forks to the cutlery basket and closed up the door of the dishwasher. When you went over to help him rinse, Steve passed you the large saucepan where the carbonara sauce had evidently simmered.</p><p>“You doing anything the rest of the day?” he asked.</p><p>“No,” you said.</p><p>“Why don’t you come down to the compound with us?” Steve phrased it more like a suggestion than a question. “See the old place.”</p><p>You weren’t really interested. The facility probably looked exactly the same. It was funded by Stark Industries. You shrugged and said, “Be right back.”</p><p>Returning to the dining room, you saw that everyone had already retreated elsewhere. Only Morgan’s plates remained on the table. They were plastic and had to be washed by hand, otherwise the print would just fade in the dishwasher.</p><p>You brought them back into the kitchen. Steve washed, you rinsed, and into the drying rack they went.</p><p>“Bright kid,” he commented about Morgan.</p><p>You were nodding in agreement when a voice interrupted you with a pointed, “Cap.”</p><p>Steve handed you the Pyrex tray where the vegetables had roasted in the oven before returning the greeting with an even, “Tony.”</p><p>Tony gestured behind him with a tilt of his head. “Take a break, Cinderella. Go join the ball in the living room. I got this covered.”</p><p>You finished towelling off the tray and did as you were told.</p><p>The rest of the house had congregated in the living room. Scott was entertaining Morgan on the floor with a game of Snakes and Ladders; Pepper and Natasha occupied the love seat, laughing about something.</p><p>When Pepper spotted you, she sent you back into the kitchen to retrieve her smoothie. “Please, honey. Thank you,” Pepper called out after you.</p><p>Tony and Steve were arguing upon your return. You lingered around the corner to eavesdrop.</p><p>“Didn’t know jailbait was your thing, Cap,” Tony remarked snidely.</p><p>Steve scoffed. “Back in my day, if you were old enough to drink, you were old enough to—”</p><p>Tony cut him off sharply. “Let me just stop you there. First of all, that’s my kid. You left her, I raised her. Second of all, the legal drinking age in the state of New York has been twenty-one since 1985. Try again in a couple of years.” He paused at that. “Actually, don’t. Third of all,” Tony finished, “if what you say <em>is</em> true, in what universe, do you think, would I ever let her do that?”</p><p>“I didn’t know you let her do anything,” Steve replied coolly.</p><p>It was Tony’s turn to scoff. “You don’t know a lot of things, Rogers. Not anymore.” The old bitterness was still there. “You try pulling her into your shit and I’ll kick your ass back to the Arctic.”</p><p>Steve tried to reason with him. “Tony—”</p><p>Tony didn’t want to hear it. “Back off, Cap.” The tone of his voice made it seem like he was repeating himself. “This is your only warning.”</p><p>Not a moment later, you heard the front door open and close. Tony was probably going to the garage to cool off.</p><p>There was a beat, followed by the sound of running water when Steve finally resumed washing.</p><p>He spoke into the silence.</p><p>“I know you were listening.” He could only be speaking to you. You were the only one there, unless another eavesdropper was hiding around the corner. “I can hear your heart beat.”</p><p>You felt a flare of curiosity. You stepped into the kitchen. “You can do that?”</p><p>You knew Captain America had enhanced senses. You didn’t know they were super senses.</p><p>“Selective hearing.” Steve passed you the large ceramic bowl Pepper had served the chicken carbonara in.</p><p>You dried it carefully. “What were you talking about?” you asked him.</p><p>Steve shook his head, as if just thinking about it wore him out, but he answered your question. “We might have found a way to bring everyone back.”</p><p>Oh. You gazed curiously up at him. “How?”</p><p>Steve glanced back down at you briefly before his eyes returned to the task in front of him. “Quantum theory.”</p><p>You felt your eyebrows furrow. You weren’t sure what that was. “What’s that?”</p><p>The smile that turned up the corner of his mouth was humourless. “I was hoping Tony would tell me.”</p><p><em>Oh.</em> That explained the disagreement.</p><p>“Maybe try Bruce,” you said, without making any real effort to be helpful.</p><p>Tony was retired. Some people apparently didn’t get the memo.</p><p>A look of defeat crossed Steve’s features. “I think I will,” he said with a sigh.</p><p>The two of you were finishing up when Nat dropped in. “We should head out.” At Steve’s nod, she turned to you. “Good seeing you, honey.”</p><p>“Bye,” you said.</p><p>The last of the cooking utensils passed between you. You started putting everything away in the cupboards. Steve wiped down the sink, hanging up the dishcloth once the whole area was dry.</p><p>“Come see me out,” he said.</p><p>Obediently, you walked him to the front door. Steve opened it and waited for you to step through before following you outside. The afternoon sun was still bright out.</p><p>“It was good to see you again,” he said, recalling Nat’s parting words.</p><p>You didn’t really wish you could say the same thing. If Steve was aware of your indifference, he didn’t let on.</p><p>“You should drop by the compound some time,” he said instead. “Spend some time with Natasha.”</p><p>Nat was crouching by the car in front of Morgan. Nearby, Pepper stood smiling. You could hear Morgan’s giggles all the way from the porch.</p><p>“Morgan likes her,” you said. That was good.</p><p>Steve leaned against the wooden beam to watch them for a moment. “She’s good with kids. When you were little...” He paused and shook his head. “After Sokovia, things weren’t... Well, they weren’t the best. But Natasha was real happy to have you. We all were.”</p><p>You never really thought of those days before the Accords, but you remembered them. You never forgot your first taste of peace.</p><p>Breakfast could be pancakes or waffles, crepes if you wanted. Yogurt and fruits, the nutrients you needed blended into green goop. Trips to the amusement park whenever Nat was free. An actual bed.</p><p>Back then, the sadness hardly ever touched the Black Widow’s eyes, anything she was feeling disguised under a half-smirk.</p><p>Now Natasha just looked sad.</p><p>“I’ll come,” you said.</p><p>Some of the tension seemed to seep out of Steve. His shoulders even relaxed. “Now?”</p><p>You shook your head. You didn’t think Tony would be too happy if you went now, especially after the little spat he just had with Steve.</p><p>“Tomorrow.”</p><p>“Ah.” You ignored his disappointment. “Day after,” Steve settled. “We’ll probably meet with Banner tomorrow.”</p><p>That was fine. You shrugged.</p><p>“Friday,” he said. It was Thursday tomorrow. “I’ll pick you up.”</p><p>“I can drive now,” you told him, starting down the porch. Tony started teaching you even before you turned the legal age to apply for a learner’s permit.</p><p>Steve brushed you off. “I’ll pick you up,” he said again. “Before lunch. We’ll grab a bite, the three of us.”</p><p>When you got close enough to the car, Morgan bounded over to your side and latched onto your hand. Something flickered across Steve’s eyes.</p><p>He opened the door to the driver’s seat. Before he got in, he tugged you close by the back of your neck to press a chaste kiss on the crown of your head.</p><p>The gesture was quick and casual. It reminded you of Tony, actually.</p><p>Pepper raised an eyebrow but said nothing.</p><p>“See ya,” Steve said, shutting the door behind him.</p><p>The car backed out of the forested drive and disappeared back the way it came.</p><p>“You said he wasn’t a friend.” Morgan sounded confused even as she tugged you in the direction of the garage. “He was nice.”</p><p>“Steve is a friend, honey,” Pepper assured her, smoothing down Morgan’s hair.</p><p>“Tony says old friends,” you told them. If by ‘old friends’ he meant ‘former friends’.</p><p>“Friends are friends,” Morgan chirped.</p><p>The simplicity of her logic incited a laugh out of Pepper. When you reached the garage, you found Tony tinkering with the Rescue armour.</p><p>He looked up from his work. “What’d I miss?”</p><p>“They left,” you said.</p><p>“Finally,” he said with a roll of his eyes.</p><p>“Tony,” Pepper reproached.</p><p>Tony winked at Morgan. Snickering, she skipped over to her dad’s side. Tony lifted her up and into his lap, groaning as though Morgan weighed a ton for the sole purpose of making her giggle at his silliness.</p><p>Pepper tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Everything okay, hon?”</p><p>You were just thinking.</p><p>You knew what family meant. You were pretty sure you knew what friends meant. Happy was a friend. Rhodey was a friend. Korg was a friend.</p><p>Steve was...</p><p>You weren’t sure what Steve was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Finally reposting this for LadyDmalfoy and magik. I decided to keep it the same. If you guys liked it, that’s good enough for me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steve and Nat returned at the end of the week. Tony was sniffing in displeasure even as he opened the door to let them in.</p><p>“Nice to see you too, Tony,” Natasha said sarcastically.</p><p>Pepper’s greeting was much friendlier. “You two want something to drink?” she offered. “The girls were just making smoothies.”</p><p>Steve turned to you. “You made it?” He noticed the drink in Tony’s hand.</p><p>You shrugged. “Me and Morgan.”</p><p>He took Pepper up on the offer. “Yeah, I’ll have some. Thanks.”</p><p>“I have to make it,” you said, not really wanting to. You only made enough for four people, not extras. Pepper liked fresh smoothies.</p><p>“We have time,” Nat told you, smiling down at Morgan. Morgan was offering up her own strawberry shake. Natasha accepted the pink Peppa Pig sippy cup gratefully. “You’re so sweet. What’s in this?”</p><p>Immediately, Morgan launched into a spiel about the contents of her drink. You left them to it and went back into the kitchen to fix up another concoction.</p><p>Steve followed you, coming to stand in the corner of the wrap-around bench top to watch you work. You laid out the cutting board and retrieved a knife from the knife stand, then wandered over to the fridge to pick out your ingredients.</p><p>“What do you want?”</p><p>“Whatever you’re having.” Steve made himself comfortable against the sink. He didn’t offer to help.</p><p>You just had a pistachio smoothie. You preferred Morgan’s strawberry milkshake, but Pepper had been fussing over your fibre intake.</p><p>You pulled out an avocado, scooped a handful of baby spinach out of the bag, paused before the milk bottles. “Almond?” you double-checked.</p><p>“Dairy’s fine,” Steve said, uncaring.</p><p>Pepper only drank unsweetened almond milk. She would probably only keep almond milk in the fridge if Tony wasn’t so insistent on drinking what he referred to as ‘real’ milk, none of ‘that vegan bull’. He drank cow as a kid; he said he would drink cow until he died.</p><p>Pepper hadn’t been impressed.</p><p>The bananas were in the freezer, already chopped. After taking out what looked like one large serving, you moved away from the refrigerator to rummage through the pantry for cashews and pistachio kernels.</p><p>You threw everything into the mixer and let it blend until the consistency was smooth.</p><p>“This is good,” Steve said after a taste. He moved around the sink to let you clean up.</p><p>“You just blend fruits,” you said.</p><p>The dullness of your tone brought a slight smile to his face. “It’s nice to have someone else do it.”</p><p>You rinsed off the knife you used to open up the avocado. “Just go to the store.”</p><p>Steve shook his head with an almost imperceptible sigh. Patiently, he elaborated, “Someone important. Someone you care about.”</p><p>You gave him an odd look. You didn’t really know each other. Steve never showed you much attention when you were a kid.</p><p>When you were still living in the compound, it was only Natasha who bothered with you. Occasionally, Nat would bring you to the farm, so you could spend time with kids your age, but Steve never accompanied you during those visits.</p><p>You could count on one hand the number of museum trips he actually took you to. Actually, Steve only ever took you out whenever something came up and Natasha was suddenly called away.</p><p>Back then, you were only allowed to go out under the supervision of an Avenger.</p><p>Once you finished tidying up in the kitchen, the three of you headed out. Without tact, Tony suggested Pepper start lunch a little early. It was clearly a ploy to keep you in the house.</p><p>Pepper shot him a look that said she knew exactly what he was doing, but she extended the sentiment. “You guys are always welcome to stay,” she told Steve and Natasha.</p><p>Steve turned the offer down. “We’re good, Pepper. Thanks. You good to go?” he asked you.</p><p>You were good to go twenty minutes ago. He was the one who wanted his smoothie.</p><p>You just nodded.</p><p>Sensing your irritation, Pepper gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. The last time you went anywhere without Tony or Pepper was over five years ago. It didn’t bother you, but Pepper always worried you weren’t properly socialised.</p><p>Well, you were raised by Hydra.</p><p>After Hydra, it was SHIELD, and SHIELD monitored your every move with a strange paranoia, as if there was a black market for enhanced kids and they thought you were particularly vulnerable.</p><p>Eventually, the UN decided to just keep track of you at all times using a microchip implant after Wanda broke out of the facility.</p><p>Secretary Ross had given you a lecture about how weapons of mass destruction should be accounted for. You thought that was a little dramatic, but with the Scarlet Witch missing, Captain America in cahoots with the Winter Soldier, and the Black Widow’s defection over to the other side, the government refused to take any more risks.</p><p>The tracker was still there. Most of the time, you forgot it was even inside you.</p><p>“Call if you need anything,” Pepper told you. She gave you a parting kiss on the cheek. “Have fun, sweetie.”</p><p>Morgan followed after her mom, planting a sloppy kiss on the other side of your face with a toothy grin. “Love you the whole Milky Way.”</p><p>You squished Morgan’s baby-fat cheeks between the palms of your hands. The whole Milky Way.</p><p>Tony’s sniff was full of disdain and more than a little obnoxious. “I want her back by ten,” he said snootily.</p><p>“Sure, Tony,” Steve agreed easily enough. He guided you out of the house with a hand on your back.</p><p>The car was parked in the same place it was in two days ago. You started for the back, but Nat waved you forward.</p><p>“Take the front, kid. I wanna close my eyes for a sec,” she said. “Long night.”</p><p>You wondered what happened to Natasha these last couple of years. You recalled once that Nat had been awake for seventy-two hours straight tying up a mission in Dakar and somehow still managed to pilot a quinjet back across the Atlantic in time for Lila’s birthday party.</p><p>Steve didn’t seem to share your concern. “She’s fine,” he said dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. You want music?”</p><p>You shrugged and turned to the window. Steve put some old classic on, more instrumental than anything else.</p><p>The trees around you thickened the further away he drove from the house. Tony bought the whole park while he was still recovering in the compound. It was private property.</p><p>In the heart of the wood, there were two treehouses built on top of a pair of oak trees, connected by a hanging bridge that used to give Pepper an aneurysm whenever you crossed it. Tony built the whole thing for you in the months that followed the snap. Apparently, every kid should have a treehouse.</p><p>Pepper had her hands full at the time, trying to sort out the company. Stark Industries employed half a million people, and half of those employees vanished with the rest of the universe. During her absence, Tony kept himself amply occupied with his little project.</p><p>You rolled the window down to feel the breeze. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Steve reach for the console to turn the air conditioning off.</p><p>On the approach to the clearing that led to the main road, the cluster of beech trees and maples that framed the gravel driveway grew sparse again. You watched the trees pass by and thought of Sokovia.</p><p>Until the Avengers raided the base you grew up in, you never saw the outside world. Thor was the one who found you in your cell; he bundled you in his cape and carried you out. You still remembered the trees, the snow. Everything was white. You liked the cold. It felt clean.</p><p>The acreage grew smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror until it disappeared completely. In the back seat, Nat appeared to be dozing. Her head was tipped back against the high leather backing, eyes closed.</p><p>You folded your arms over the window sill to cushion your cheek. The car was leaving the parkland and entering the highway. The road was mostly empty, but Steve still drew you away from the window.</p><p>“Bring your head back in.” He took the left lane without bothering to signal. The nearest vehicle was a good hundred feet away. Captain America was a famous hypocrite. “And put your seatbelt on,” he told you.</p><p>You brought your head back in and put your seatbelt on. You were the only one in the car wearing one.</p><p>When you finally reached the city, it was just after twelve. You only ever visited Brooklyn once or twice before. Everything looked mostly the same, except there was barely any people.</p><p>Steve pulled the car to a stop in front of a nondescript restaurant with Japanese characters over the door. There was no English translation.</p><p>The doorman greeted him familiarly. “Cap.”</p><p>Steve returned the greeting with an equally familiar, “Hey, Joe.” He clapped the man around the shoulder. “Busy inside?”</p><p>“No more than usual, sir.”</p><p>Inside, there was a bar where several patrons sat on low-backed stools. Chefs were puttering around in front of them, busy making the food.</p><p>A number of tables were already occupied, but there was a section on the other side of the room where people were actually sitting on the floor.</p><p>Steve noticed your interest. “Wanna try the mats?” he asked you.</p><p>You couldn’t picture him sitting on the floor. “Aren’t you too big?”</p><p>He nudged you forward. “There’s room under the table.”</p><p>There was room under the table, a hole in the floor for people to dangle their legs more comfortably over. You just folded your legs underneath you.</p><p>When you began to flip through the menu, you saw that all the writing was in Japanese. There were no pictures for reference.</p><p>Steve didn’t seem to be having any problems reading it, though.</p><p>You blinked at him. “You can read Japanese?”</p><p>Steve glanced at you. At that moment, a waiter came to the table.</p><p>You were served green tea in cups without handles, then Nat was rattling off her order. Before the server could even turn to take yours, Steve spoke up to order for both of you.</p><p>Remembering Pepper’s lectures, you waited politely for the waiter to leave before turning your attention back to Steve.</p><p>There was a small smile on his face.</p><p>“An old buddy of mine,” he said, “back in the war. Had these books—” Steve used his hands to demonstrate the size, “—looked like comic strips, but you read ‘em backwards. Sometimes, we’d be out in some back woods, nothing to do, just waiting on intel. You get tired of gambling pretty quickly when all you got are weapons and rations.” His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Taught me how to read.”</p><p>You added that information to the list of things you were learning about Captain America. “Can you speak?” you asked curiously.</p><p>Steve’s smile turned wry. “If you’re all right with a piss-poor accent.”</p><p>“His Italian is much better,” Nat put in.</p><p>Steve shrugged again, dismissive. “You live as long as I have, you learn to pick up a few things.”</p><p>The food arrived. Nat ordered a bowl of rice with chicken and eggs. She fed you a spoonful on her chopsticks to give you a taste. Apparently, they cooked the rice and chicken and eggs in chicken broth, because everything tasted like chicken.</p><p>“Try this,” Steve said, blowing lightly on a small portion. You leaned over the table and opened your mouth. “Careful.” The hot pot filled with beef and vegetables sat in front of him, still steaming. Smoke billowed from open dish, big enough for four people. You chewed and swallowed. Steve watched you. “Good?”</p><p>“Uh huh,” you said. You liked his better than Nat’s, but the stir-fried noodles he got you was better than his.</p><p>But the best part was dessert.</p><p>You realised you ate too much mochi ice cream after the fourth one. You were so full afterwards. Your belly was swollen with a food baby. You didn’t want to get up.</p><p>Steve and Nat were smiling softly at you. They didn’t let you sit for long. Nat rose in one graceful motion and came around the table to pull you to your feet.</p><p>“Up you get, kiddo,” she said. “A walk will do you good.” Nat steered you towards the door. “Come on.”</p><p>You both loitered outside for a moment, waiting for Steve to finish paying. He didn’t take long.</p><p>Steve led you away from the dead neighbourhood to the park, which was equally dead. Occasionally, you spotted a family out for a picnic, the odd elderly feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons here and there. There was an air of quiet resignation around almost every stranger you passed.</p><p>Nat wrapped an arm around you and kept you close. The three of you strolled around the park for a while. Every now and then, you walked past someone sitting by themselves on one of the benches, staring emptily at nothing.</p><p>You stared back without much feeling. There was a reason Pepper was always reminding you to be more compassionate.</p><p>The walk was only cut short by plans Steve had at four. “Why don’t you tag along?” he suggested to you. “Check it out. I’d be glad to have you.”</p><p>The meeting was in about half an hour. Admittedly, you were morbidly fascinated by the concept of support groups, people who actually decided to get together so they could be miserable together.</p><p>“Where is it?” you asked.</p><p>“Not far.” You were already back at the car. “Couple of blocks,” Steve said.</p><p>You looked to Nat. “Are you coming?”</p><p>Natasha’s smile was more of a grimace than an actual smile. “No, honey. Therapy doesn’t work on me.” She came around to the driver’s side. Steve tossed her the keys. “I’m gonna head back. Call me when you’re done,” she told you. “I’ll take you home.”</p><p>The car peeled away from the curb and drove off.</p><p>Steve nodded his head in the opposite direction. “Come on.”</p><p>You fell into a step beside him. You hoped the support group was entertaining, but you didn’t think Steve would appreciate the sentiment.</p><p><br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
</p><p>The building was an old community theatre. Steve let himself in and went around the back to turn on the main power switch. The fluorescent lights flickered a couple of times before staying static.</p><p>You took in the peeling paint on the walls, the dull posters taped over the cracks. You looked to Steve questioningly.</p><p>“Makes people feel better,” he said, and shrugged. “Don’t ask.”</p><p>You and Steve were the first to arrive. He led you to the mess hall where the meetings took place. The chairs were all stacked up on top of the rows of tables pushed against the far wall along the back of the room.</p><p>Steve started taking them down two at a time. You were still in the process of dragging your first chair over to the front when he returned with his second pair like it was rote.</p><p>After that, you just sat on the stage and let him do the rest of the work.</p><p>The chairs were quickly and efficiently arranged in a small circle, evenly spaced out but still tight-knit enough to create some semblance of intimacy between the sitters. It didn’t take long to get everything set up.</p><p>You already laid out the biscuit tins before you sat down. Someone else would be bringing sandwiches; another person had the drinks covered, apparently.</p><p>“Community effort,” Steve explained. “It’s the little things that keep the average person going.” He came over to lean against the stage, standing close enough to you that the side of his leg pressed against yours. “Getting out of bed, tying your shoelaces. Put in a little effort, get a little something back.” He gave you a meaningful nudge. “Some folks just need to know they’re not alone.”</p><p>You tilted your head to the side, considering him. “Are you talking about yourself?” you wondered.</p><p>You usually missed hints like that. Pepper told you it was always better to ask. Not that you ever cared enough to, most of the time.</p><p>Steve was Steve, though.</p><p>He huffed out a short breath that might have been a laugh if it wasn’t so humourless. “Honestly?” The shake of his head was world-weary. “I don’t know anymore.”</p><p>“You’re not alone right now,” you offered, after a pause. It was the best you could do.</p><p>Steve smiled and leaned down to kiss your hair. “I know. I told you I’d be glad to have you,” he reminded you. At your wondering look, Steve just pressed another kiss to your forehead. “I meant it.”</p><p>No one ever touched you outside of three people. Five people.</p><p>Pepper was always kissing Morgan and Morgan was always with you, so you got subjected to the same treatment. Even in the compound, Tony made it a habit to check in before bedtime; after Morgan got her big girl bed and he started tucking her in at night, the gesture automatically extended to you.</p><p>And Happy and Rhodey were always tussling your hair on their way out.</p><p>Steve wasn’t Happy or Rhodey.</p><p>He kissed your hair again for a third time in as many seconds, like he couldn’t quite help himself.</p><p>You didn’t react except to peer up at him with increasing curiosity. You grew up as a lab rat. Steve was surprisingly affectionate.</p><p>Someone cleared their throat.</p><p>“Hi. Uh.”</p><p>You looked past Steve to the doorway where the voice was coming from. There was a lady standing there.</p><p>“Uh,” she said again, haltingly. “Sorry to interrupt.”</p><p>Steve waved her in. “No, come on in, Jess,” he bid her welcomingly, dismissing the hobbling apology. “Good to see you here early.”</p><p>Nodding to return the sentiment, the lady shuffled towards the folding table off to the side of the stage where the control room was. She set down a tupperware next to the biscuit tins.</p><p>Steve peeled himself away from you and walked over to her.</p><p>“Those look great,” he told her good-naturedly. “Thanks for bringing them in.”</p><p>“Yeah,” the woman — Jess — replied, shaking her head. “No problem, Steve.” Her eyes darted to you.</p><p>Steve noticed and beckoned you over. “Kid,” he said, “come here.”</p><p>You slid off the stage and padded over to his side. Steve introduced you to his associate, who attempted to make conversation. “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>When you didn’t return the pleasantry, the lady paused and looked to Steve. Steve looked only somewhat apologetic. Uncertainly, the woman returned her gaze to you.</p><p>“Are you... new?” she tried again. “Or—”</p><p>“No,” you answered.</p><p>The woman seemed to be waiting for you to continue. You just turned your attention to the table.</p><p>You saw the contents of the plastic container, sandwiches cut into small triangles. The filling looked like ham and cheese and mayonnaise. Maybe aioli.</p><p>At your clear disinterest in engaging her in chatter, the woman turned on Steve, probably a little affronted. Steve cleared his throat and gestured to the food.</p><p>“Mind if I have a bite?”</p><p>His acquaintance had to blink a couple of times, as if she wasn’t completely sure what just happened.</p><p>“Yeah. Uh, no. I mean,” Jess amended, “I don’t mind. Go ahead.”</p><p>You were still full from the Japanese food. Steve ate a mountain back at the restaurant, but he had super soldier metabolism. Over ten thousand calories per day.</p><p>You ate about ten percent of that.</p><p>Another person arrived then.</p><p>Steve gave the elderly man, Neil, the same friendly greeting he’d given their mutual friend Jess. He introduced you again. You remained as unforthcoming. Steve wasn’t giving you instructions to be friendly.</p><p>The rest of the group showed up shortly after. You wanted pineapple juice, but the person in charge of the drinks was late. Steve said the tap water in the building wasn’t up to standard.</p><p>The clock read quarter past four by the time the man finally made his appearance.</p><p>His name was Alan. Apparently, he forgot it was his turn to bring the drinks and had to do a last minute run to the store. Steve thanked him in a backhanded manner and told him not to be late again.</p><p>Captain America hated tardiness. You remembered him snapping at trainees more than once back in the compound.</p><p>“Take a seat,” Steve told the current object of his displeasure.</p><p>The only empty spot was next to you. For obvious reasons, no one wanted to sit there.</p><p>The latecomer, being late, missed out on the frigid introductions and dropped into the only remaining seat beside you, inevitably encroaching on your space.</p><p>The man was on the heftier side of the scale. The smell of stale sweat grew more prominent.</p><p>Without making any effort to be discreet, you scooted away and dragged your chair closer to Steve.</p><p>Steve didn’t say anything, just crossed his leg over the other knee and draped an arm over the back of your chair. It raised eyebrows, but the people around you kept their mouths shut.</p><p>No one wanted to question Captain America.</p><p>The meeting was already under way.</p><p>One of the ladies, Rachel, continued her story after the short interruption. In the middle of recounting the three-layered fruit cake she baked for her sister’s baby shower the day half the universe turned to ashes, she broke into sobs. They were expecting triplets.</p><p>A consolatory silence ensued.</p><p>You broke it by asking how many babies disappeared.</p><p>“How many—” The woman’s puffy face screwed up with her lack of comprehension. “What?”</p><p>You blinked. Maybe babies and mothers counted as one person. They were connected by the umbilical cord. You never thought about that before.</p><p>“All of them?”</p><p>The incomprehension turned into horror. Around the circle, your question was met with aghast speechlessness.</p><p>Steve finally intervened.</p><p>“Okay,” he said, shifting in his seat. “That’s just it, guys. We had no way of knowing. Friends, family.” He shook his head. “There one moment, the next... We couldn’t know who stayed. Not until everyone else was gone and we were left to pick up the pieces. All any of us have now are memories. We keep going to keep them alive inside us.” Steve prompted a change in topic. “Rachel, you said you started seeing somebody?”</p><p>Sniffling, the woman seemed sufficiently diverted and started telling the group about the man who moved into her building last month. No one answered your question.</p><p>Steve gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze, as if to let you know you would discuss it later. For now, your curiosity remained unsatisfied.</p><p>One by one, the people in the circle took turns in sharing how their week went. The general consensus was unpromising.</p><p>Jeff was a terminal cancer patient with stage four mesothelioma who wanted to see his grandchildren one more time. Tanya’s wife had been moved to suicide watch again; she was institutionalised after watching their daughter disintegrate before her eyes.</p><p>Herman failed another job interview.</p><p>Ian almost missed today’s meeting because his mother had a depressive episode. His sister used to be her primary caregiver, but she vanished with the rest of the universe.</p><p>“I’m sorry to hear that, Ian.” Steve was bleeding sympathy. “If you need to head out early, feel free to. Same goes for all of you,” he added. “You’re here because you want to be here— or at least I would hope so.”</p><p>That garnered some laughter. You watched them dully. Your phone was buzzing in your pocket.</p><p>Steve waited for everyone to settle down before continuing.</p><p>“I know I’m speaking for everyone else when I say we’re all here because we want help. Assurance. A reminder that we’re all still here. We’ve all had better days, and I know it seems like every day moving forward is a never-ending struggle, but... We gotta keep going, guys.” He looked around the group. “Not just for the people we lost— for ourselves. We’ve all lost something,” he said grimly.</p><p>You didn’t, but those in the circle clung onto every word with rapt attention.</p><p>You listened without much interest. Your phone was still vibrating with notifications.</p><p>Steve was still talking.</p><p>“When you lose something that important, I know it feels like the end of the world. But the world keeps going. It’s up to you to fall in line or fall behind. Trust me. Eighty years ago, I went in the ice. Woke up, everyone I knew was gone.” He shook his head again and made a noise under his breath like a scoff. “But you’ll be surprised. Some things have a funny way of coming back when you least expect it. When it does...” His eyes met yours. “When it does,” Steve said again, “you gotta hold onto it. Whatever it takes.”</p><p>You stared at him uncomprehendingly. He was close enough that you could see where the blue faded into green around his pupils. In the artificial light of the run-down room, Steve’s eyes just looked blue.</p><p>Before you could ask him what he was talking about, someone in the circle suddenly sat forward and blurted, “Wait, are you Marvel Girl?”</p><p>Blinking, you looked to your left. It was the boy sitting on the other side of Steve.</p><p>Civilians sometimes recognised you. Back then, you were too young to go on missions, but the public relations team in the compound made use of you.</p><p>SHIELD was facing constant pressure from child services to release you into their custody. Only the public uproar against removing an enhanced minor from the guardianship of other enhanced individuals stayed them.</p><p>The Avengers liked to market you as a symbol of the future — heroes raising the next generation of heroes.</p><p>That was half a decade ago.</p><p>You grew up.</p><p>When you didn’t say anything, Steve answered Danny for you. He was the youngest person in the group other than you. He couldn’t be much older.</p><p>“Are you back with the Avengers?” he asked you.</p><p>“No,” you answered.</p><p>“Oh,” he said. He looked to Steve, who only gazed back at him evenly. It was clear that Captain America wasn’t encouraging the conversation. Danny shrank back into his seat.</p><p>The rest of the meeting went by without any interruptions.</p><p>You were unfriendly and taciturn at Steve’s side. When everyone gathered around the snack table afterwards, he grabbed you a plate of ham sandwiches and a can of orange Fanta because there was nothing pineapple flavoured, then left your side to mingle.</p><p>You watched Steve speak privately with each person there, offering extra help and support to anyone who might need it. The kindness was predictable.</p><p>You weren’t left to your own devices too long.</p><p>Tentatively, Danny approached you with an unopened packet of Sour Punch. “Can I...” He gestured vaguely to the spot beside you.</p><p>He could do whatever he wanted. You turned your attention back to Steve.</p><p>After a moment’s hesitation, Danny took a seat on the stage, placing the rainbow straws between the two of you. He offered you the first strawberry flavour. You took it wordlessly.</p><p>“So,” he started, “what do you do?”</p><p>“Nothing,” you said.</p><p>“They said you came with Cap?” he tried to bring up.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Are you...” You could hear him wince at his own ineptitude. “Are you just visiting?”</p><p>You gave the same one word answer as before.</p><p>The attempts at conversation didn’t last long. Danny gave up trying to talk to you, but he still stayed and shared his Sour Punch.</p><p>The two of you ate it together. When he noticed you liked blue raspberry the best, he stopped taking the blue flavour. You returned the favour and left all the green apple to him. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable.</p><p>Eventually, people started to trickle out of the hall. The pair in charge of the food and drinks were the last to leave, lingering behind to collect the leftovers and clean up the area. The plastic container where the sandwiches used to be was empty, but there were a couple of sodas left.</p><p>Jess gathered up stray pieces of trash discarded elsewhere around the room and tossed them in a garbage bag. Steve cleared the chairs with an extra pair of hands. The extra pair of hands came in the form of Alan, who was still apologising for being late.</p><p>People never liked getting on Captain America’s bad side. Not even Tony.</p><p>Once everything was back in order, Jess and Alan said their goodbyes. Steve returned to your side and nodded to Danny.</p><p>“It’s getting late, son.”</p><p>Danny took the hint for what it was. “Well,” he said awkwardly, “nice meeting you, Marvel Girl.” You watched him scurry off like a rat. He left the rest of his sour straws to you.</p><p>Steve eyed the doorway where Danny disappeared through. “You seemed to be getting along,” he observed. You shrugged. His gaze flicked back to you and the Sour Punch. “Save the rest after we eat.”</p><p>You already had four of those small sandwich triangles, which had to equate to one whole sandwich. Steve had a couple himself.</p><p>“We already ate,” you said. Your soda was still half full.</p><p>Steve didn’t look impressed. “Actual food,” he said. “Come on. Let me take you out to dinner.”</p><p>You picked up your bag of sweets. The plastic stuck to your fingers, sticky with candy residue. You sucked the sour sugar off your thumb.</p><p>Steve’s gaze darkened. The two of you were alone in the dilapidated mess hall.</p><p>He cleared his throat and jerked his head in the direction of the door. “C’mon.” His voice sounded mostly normal. “Still pretty early.”</p><p>You caught him in the lie. “You said it was late.”</p><p>Well, it was a half-truth. “For the kid,” Steve said.</p><p>When you headed out again, he walked close to you, almost shoulder to shoulder. You were no closer to figuring out what his gimmick was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Steve saying son is my kink.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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